Poultry-coop.



Patented Nov. 18,1902 J. M. FAWCETT.

POULTRY COOP (Application filed Mar. 25, 1902.)

UNlTFD STATES PATENT Urrrcn.

JOHN M. FAWCETT, OF KOKOMO, INDIANA.

POULTRY -COOP.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 713,7 56, datedNovember 18, 1902. Applicatio n filed March 25, 1902. Serial No. 99,905.(No model.)

To all. whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN M. FAWCETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kokomo, in the county of Howard and State of Indiana, haveinvented a new and useful Poultry-Coop, of which the following is aspecification.

The invention relates to improvements in poultry-coops.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofpoultry coops and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive oneadapted to protect chickens and other fowls from the storms and fromanimals and capable of affording perfect ventilation without subjectingthe fowls to drafts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chicken or poultrycoop of this character adapted to afford ready access to its interior toenable it to be conveniently cleaned.

The invention also has for its object to provide a poultry-coop designedespecially for the use of a hen and a brood of chickens and adapted tobe readily arranged to confine the hen and permit the young chicks topass freely out of and into it and capable of confining both the hen andyoung chicks and of being also arranged to permit egress and ingress ofthe hen and young chickens.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a poultry-coopconstructed in accordance with this invention, the adjustable hood orshield being raised to illustrate the front of the coop. Fig. 2 is acentral vertical sectional View. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional viewof the front of the coop.

Like numerals of reference designate corre sponding parts in all thefigures of the drawlugs.

1 designates a poultry-coop provided with sides 2 and a back 3, whichare mounted upon a bottom a and suitably connected to form an inclosure,and the said coop at the upper portion of its front is covered by asuitable screen 5, of wire or other suitable material, adapted to affordfree access of air and capable of effectually preventing ratsor otheranimals from entering the coop at that point.

The sides 2 of the coop are connected at their front edges by upper andintermediate horizontal bars 6 and '7, located at thetop and bottom ofthe front screen, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The upper horizontal barhas connected to it by hinges 8 an adjustable hood 9, consisting of afront board or body portion and approximately triangular end wings 10,adapted to abut against the front edges of the sides 2 of the coop whenthe hood or shield is down, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings,and supporting the front board or body portion of the hood in aninclined position and offset from the front of the coop. The hoodpartially covers the screen of the front of the coop, and it extendsdownward to a point approximately in the same plane as the bottom of thescreen, and it is adapted to effectually shield the front of the coopfrom wind, snow, rain, and the like, and at the same time it will permitperfect ventilation without exposing the fowls to drafts. The wings 9are recessed at their lower ends at 11 to receive the intermediatehorizontal bar .7 when the hood is arranged as shown in Fig. 2.

The hood is provided on its upper or outer face with a ratchet-bar 12,extending upward from the lower edge of the hood and provided withshouldered teeth which are adapted to be engaged by a bail or loop 13,constructed of wire or other suitable material and adapted to supportthe hood in an elevated position. The ratchet-bar 12 is preferablyconconstructed of flanged metal and is approximately L-shaped incross-section, one of the flanges being secured to the hood and theother flange being provided with the said teeth, which are preferablyhook-shaped, as shown. The loop or bail, which is approximately U-shaped, has its terminals bent outward to form pivots 14, which arearranged in suitable eyes 15 of the coop. The eyes, which may consist ofstaples or other suitable fastening devices, & are preferably mountedupon the upper horizontal bar. The said loop or bail is adapted to swingupward and downward, and by engaging its outward portion with the teethof the ratchet-bar the hood may be readily supported at the desiredadjustment.

The cover or top 16, which is arranged at an inclination to shed water,is removable to afford ready access to the coop for convenientlycleaning the same, and it is provided near its edges with cleats 17,arranged on its lower face and forming flanges which are adapted to litaround the sides and ends of the coop, whereby the cover is held againstlateral and longitudinal movement when in place. The coop is provided atits front with arecess l8,whichis engaged byalug or tongue 19,consisting of an approximately segmental plate secured to the frontcleat and extending inward or rearward therefrom and projecting into thesaid recess 18, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The recess is formed with ashoulder at the top, and the projecting lip or flange 19 engages thesame, whereby the front of the cover or top is held against upwardmovement. The cover or top is pro vided at the back with an eye 20,depending from the rear cleat and arranged to be engaged by a hook 21,mounted on the back of the coop and adapted to engage the said eye,whereby the cover or top is detachably secured to the body of the coop.When the cover or top is removed, access is readily had to the interiorof the coop, and the latter may be quickly cleaned and be kept in theproper condition.

The coop is provided at the front adjacent to one side with alargeopening 22, and it has a series of small openings 23 at the oppositeside, the openings 23 being preferably formed by vertical rods 24, whichdivide the space between the adjacent side 2 and the post or upright 25into a number of smaller spaces. The small spaces 23 are designed toafford passage-ways for young chickens, and the large openingis designedto afford a passageway for a hen, the large opening being covered whenit is desired to confine the hen in the coop and permit the brood topass inward and outward freely. Both the large opening and the series ofsmall openings are covered to confine the hen and the brood in the coop.This is effected by means of a slide 26,mounted in suitable ways andarranged to move horizontally, the ways being preferably formed by theuprights or posts 25, the intermediate horizontal bar 7, and a pair ofvertical bars 27, secured to the bar 7 and to the bottom of the coop.The vertical bars 7, which extend from the bottom of the coop to thehorizontal bar 7, are spaced from the uprights or posts 25 to receivethe slide 26, which is secured at the desired adjustment by aspring-actuated bolt 28. The spring actuated bolt 28 is mounted on ahorizontal supporting-bar 29 and is engaged by a spiral spring 30,housed within a tubular casing 31 and engaging the outer end of the sameand a suitable stop or flange of the bolt. The said spring is adapted tomove the bolt inward to the position shown in Fig. 3, and the slide isprovided with three openings 32, 33, and 34:. The opening 32 is locatednear one end of the slide, the opening 33 is arranged at the center ofthe same, and the other opening 34 is located at the other end of theslide. When the bolt is in engagement with-the central opening 33, theslide closes the coop and confines the hen and young chickens or otherfowls therein, and when the bolt engages the opening 34 of the slide thelatter is arranged as shown in Fig. 1 to uncover the large opening 32.The slide is adapted also to be moved from the position shown in Fig. lhorizontally until the opening 32 is brought opposite the bolt. Thiswill uncover the openings 23 and cover the opening 22, thereby confiningthe hen in the coop and permitting the young chickens free egress andingress to the same.

The sides, back, and bottom may be connected together and to the frontin any suitable manner desired and they may be detachably securedtogether to provide a knockdown coop, and I desire it to be understoodthat these and similar changes within the scope of the claims may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It will be seen that the poultry-coop is exceedingly simple andinexpensive in construction; that the adjustable hood is adapted toafford perfect ventilation when closed and is capable of excluding wind,rain, snow, and the like, so that the fowls will not be subjected todrafts, and that ready access is afforded to the coop to enable the sameto be conveniently cleaned; also, it will be clear that the coop may bereadily arranged for confining a hen and her brood or for permittingeither the brood or both the hen and the brood to pass into and out ofthe coop. Furthermore, it will be clear that the coop when closed willefiectually exclude rats and other animals and fully protect the fowlsfrom the same.

What I claim isl. The combination ofa coop, a hood hinged at its top tothe coop and provided with ap proximately triangular wings arranged atits ends in position to abut against the coop to support the hood in itslowered position, a ratchet-bar disposed transversely of the hood at theupper face of the same, and an approximately U-shaped loop or bailhinged at the terminals of its sides to the coop and arranged to engagethe teeth of the ratchetbar, whereby the hood is supported at thedesired adjustment, substantially as described. v

2. The combination of a coop provided at its bottom with ways and havingopenings at opposite sides thereof, said coop being also provided withvertical bars forming portions of the ways and located adjacent to thecenter of the coop, a slide mounted in the ways, a horizontalsupporting-bar secured to the vertical bars and a locking device mountedon the supporting-bar and engaging the slide, substantially asdescribed.

3. A coop comprising a bottom, sides, a back, a top, a screen coveringthe upper portion of the front of the coop, uprights or bars 25, anintermediate bar arranged horizontally and spaced from the bottom of thecoop, the outer vertical bars, rods extending from the bottom of thecoop to the intermediate bar and located adjacent to one of the sides ofthe coop, a slide arranged between the outer vertical bars and the inneruprights or bars and capable of longitudinal movement, and a lockingdevice supported by the outer Vertical bars and engaging the slide,substantially as describe 4. A coop comprising a bottom, sides, a back,upper and intermediate horizontal bars secured to the sides at the frontthereof, the

screen covering the upper portion of the front ofthe coop, uprights orbars 25 extending from the bottom to the upper horizontal bar, the outervertical bars extending from the bottom to the intermediate horizontalbar, a slide arranged between the uprights and the outer vertical bars,a locking device for engaging the slide, a hood hinged to the upperhorizontal bar, and means for supporting the hood in its adjustedposition, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN M. FAWGETT. I

Witnesses:

J. R. MORGAN, G. D. JAY.

